Bob James — One

They always seemed to be far too commercial for jazz fans, and too smooth for people who like funk and r&b. I was aware of them, but never really got into it and didn’t know too many of their releases. I have recently acquired several through buying record collections and have found that while those criticisms may be partly true, there is a lot to like–always great musicians, they sounds excellent (often engineered by Rudy Van Gelder), and very nice gatefold covers. I’ll be looking for more.

This is a good place to start–Bob James’ 1974 LP “One”. The cover of Roberta Flack’s hit “Feel Like Makin’ Love” (written by Eugene McDaniels) is a killer track. The great Idris Muhammad on drums helps, right?